1954 French Grand Prix

The 1954 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims on 4 July 1954, the same date as the 1954 Football World Cup Final. It was race 4 of 9 in the 1954 World Championship of Drivers. The 61-lap race was won by Mercedes driver Juan Manuel Fangio after he started from pole position. His teammate Karl Kling finished second and Ferrari driver Robert Manzon came in third. This race was held the same day as the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final in Bern, Switzerland, but that event took place later in the day from this Grand Prix.

1954 French Grand Prix
Reims-Gueux layout
Race details
Date 4 July 1954
Official name XLI Grand Prix de l'ACF
Location Reims Circuit, Reims, France
Course Temporary road course
Course length 8.302 km (5.159 mi)
Distance 61 laps, 506.422 km (314.676 mi)
Weather Overcast, wet
Pole position
Driver
Mercedes
Time 2:29.4
Fastest lap
Driver Hans Herrmann Mercedes
Time 2:32.9 on lap 3
Podium
First
  • Juan Manuel Fangio
 Mercedes
Second
Mercedes
Third
Ferrari

Race report

The long-awaited Mercedes W196 with its straight-8 fuel-injection engine made its debut with Juan Manuel Fangio transferring from Maserati to join an otherwise all-German line-up of Hans Herrmann, Karl Kling and pre-war driver Hermann Lang. It was a dominant return with Fangio recording a practice lap of 124.31 mph. He and Kling led away and continued to race side by side around the Rheims track. The Ferrari drivers simply couldn't cope with the pace. José Froilán González retired after 12 laps and Mike Hawthorn's car blew up spectacularly. Former Ferrari double World Champion (1952 & 1953) Alberto Ascari drove a Maserati, as the Lancia D50 was not yet ready for racing, and lasted only 1 lap after starting on the outside of the front row. Herrmann set fastest lap before retiring, but Fangio and Kling continued their duel until the last lap when team orders were put in force and Fangio led Kling over the line by a mere 0.1 seconds-half a car length. Only six cars finished the gruelling race.

Classification

Qualifying
PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
1 18 Juan Manuel Fangio Mercedes 2:29.4 —
2 20 Karl Kling Mercedes 2:30.4 + 1.0
3 10 Alberto Ascari Maserati 2:30.5 + 1.1
4 2 José Froilán González Ferrari 2:30.6 + 1.2
5 12 Onofre Marimón Maserati 2:31.6 + 2.2
6 46 Prince Bira Maserati 2:35.1 + 5.7
7 22 Hans Herrmann Mercedes 2:35.3 + 5.9
8 6 Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 2:35.6 + 6.2
9 4 Maurice Trintignant Ferrari 2:36.1 + 6.7
10 44 Roy Salvadori Maserati 2:36.3 + 6.9
11 16 Roberto Mieres Maserati 2:38.7 + 9.3
12 34 Robert Manzon Ferrari 2:42.0 + 12.6
13 36 Louis Rosier Ferrari 2:42.1 + 12.7
14 14 Luigi Villoresi Maserati 2:42.7 + 13.3
15 32 Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 2:52.5 + 23.1
16 42 Ken Wharton Maserati 3:09.3 + 39.9
17 24 Jean Behra Gordini No time —
18 26 Jacques Pollet Gordini No time —
19 28 Paul Frère Gordini No time —
20 30 Georges Berger Gordini No time —
21 48 Harry Schell Maserati No time —
DNA 40 Sergio Mantovani Maserati No time —
Source:[1]

Race
Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 18 Juan Manuel Fangio Mercedes 61 2:42:47.9 1 8
2 20 Karl Kling Mercedes 61 + 0.1 2 6
3 34 Robert Manzon Ferrari 60 + 1 Lap 12 4
4 46 Prince Bira Maserati 60 + 1 Lap 6 3
5 14 Luigi Villoresi Maserati 58 + 3 Laps 14 2
6 24 Jean Behra Gordini 56 + 5 Laps 17  
Ret 28 Paul Frère Gordini 50 Axle 19  
Ret 4 Maurice Trintignant Ferrari 36 Engine 9  
Ret 36 Louis Rosier Ferrari 27 Engine 13  
Ret 12 Onofre Marimón Maserati 27 Gearbox 5  
Ret 16 Roberto Mieres Maserati 24 Engine 11  
Ret 42 Ken Wharton Maserati 19 Transmission 16  
Ret 48 Harry Schell Maserati 19 Fuel Pump 21  
Ret 22 Hans Herrmann Mercedes 16 Engine 7 11
Ret 44 Roy Salvadori Maserati 15 Half Shaft 10  
Ret 2 José Froilán González Ferrari 13 Engine 4  
Ret 32 Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 10 Engine 15  
Ret 30 Georges Berger Gordini 9 Engine 20  
Ret 6 Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 9 Engine 8  
Ret 26 Jacques Pollet Gordini 8 Engine 18  
Ret 10 Alberto Ascari Maserati 1 Transmission 3  
Source:[2]
Notes
  • ^1 – 1 point for fastest lap

Notes
  • F1 Debut: Jacques Pollet, Karl Kling, Mercedes and Continental tyre.
  • Debut win for Mercedes and Continental in Formula One.
  • Excluding the Indianapolis 500, this was the first time a non-Italian constructor won a Formula One World Championship race.
  • The Thillois hairpin had been changed from the year before. The original corner's surface was laid out with bricks; the new corner bypassed this hairpin with a new smooth tarmac surface.

Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Juan Manuel Fangio 25
2 Maurice Trintignant 9
3 Bill Vukovich 8
4 José Froilán González 6.5
5 Nino Farina 6
Source: [3]
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 5 results counted towards the Championship.
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References
  1. "Franch 1954 - Qualifying". statsf1.com. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  2. "1954 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  3. "France 1954 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
Previous race:
1954 Belgian Grand Prix		 FIA Formula One World Championship
1954 season		 Next race:
1954 British Grand Prix
Previous race:
1953 French Grand Prix		 French Grand Prix Next race:
1956 French Grand Prix
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